💕Special thread about the most romantic Sardinian song, written in 1915 by Salvatore Sini.💕
A Diosa (also known as Non potho reposare, from the first line of the text) was written by Salvatore 'Badore' Sini, a lawyer and poet from Sarule, in the area of Nuoro. The very first version was written in 1915, year in which Italy entered WWI. It was the period in which-
-the youth were beginning to leave their homes for the war. A Diosa talks about the struggles of staying away from the beloved person and it relates to the general feeling of leaving for the war. In fact, the very first representation was sung in the occasion of the departure-
-of soldiers.
Local sources say that Badore Sini, a shepherd turned lawyer, fell in love with a neighbour but the woman was already married and he could only love her in spirit, from afar.
The poem was turned into music little time later by Giuseppe Rachel, musician from-
-Cagliari who was working as director of the orchestra of Nuoro. The composition of the poem and the song was done in the period in which Nuoro became one of the most artistic and culturally active towns of Sardinia.
The song has been sung afterwards by many Sardinian singers-
-and groups, from Maria Carta, to Tazenda and Andrea Parodi, to the local choirs of Nuoro and other towns, becoming one of the most famous and representative songs of the Island.
In the pictures, you can find the original text of the poem with its English translation. The text-
-of the song might vary a little.
The title, "A Diosa", is interpreted as a dedication to the loved one, imagined as a goddess, and derives from the Spanish verb "endiosar". Sini also wrote a poem as the woman's reply, entitled "A Diosu".
The song has been performed also-
-by non Sardinians as a tribute to the Island.
Here are two versions: in link, the version of Andrea Parodi; in QT the version of the choirs of Nuoro.
▪️Mamuthones and Issohadores proceed along the streets of Mamoiada, with the Issohadores (the men) leading the Mamuthones (the animals) into a ritual dance towards their sacrifice.
Thread about the town of Làconi, border between Barbagia and Campidano.
Laconi rises in the plain of Sarcidano, border between the mountainous lands of Barbagia and the fertile, wheat fields of Campidano and Marmilla, position which gives it a fundamental role in History.
The area has been inhabited since Neolithic times and we find villages from-
-Nuragic and Prenuragic ages. One of the most important discoveries has been the recovering of the decorated menhirs now kept in the Museum of Sardinian Prehistoric Statues, hosted in Palazzo Aymerich ⬇️. These menhirs, all coming from the surrounding area of Laconi, show-
Thread about the medieval codex of the town of Villa di Chiesa, famous for its details about mining work.
📸 A page of the fourth book of the codex
Villa di Chiesa (today's Iglesias) first appeared in records in 1272, but it is likely it existed as a town since some time earlier. The Iglesiente is famous for its mines of silver which have been exploited since the Nuragic times.
After the dissolution of the Judicate-
-of Calari, Villa passed into the hands of the Count Ugolino of the Gherardesca of Donoratico (a Pisan noble family), who built the (now) cathedral in 1284 and the enclosing walls. It later fell directly into the hands of the Commune of Pisa and it's been the first town to be-
Thread about Saint Anthony's festival, beginning of the Carnival traditions in Sardinia.
📸 Boe of Ottana
Saint Anthony the Abbot was born in Egypt and the appellative of "de su fogu" (of the fire) differentiates him from Saint Anthony from Padova. This "nickname" derives from the ritual of lighting up bonfires in his honour, on January 17th.
In Sardinia, on that day, wood is-
-gathered in the squares of the town and set on fire. People who expressed vows the previous year can bring larger pieces of wood. The bonfire is usually fed with cork. Smaller bonfires can be used to jump over them. The soot is used to paint faces black (sign of fertility-
Thread about the representations of Sardinia in art, literature and movies from the 19th century to the 'colonial' view, the ethnic body and the counter-reaction of Sardinian artists.
📸 Biasi
This thread covers a rather complex topic, that I don't mean to analyse in all the details. What makes it difficult is not only the way non-Sardinians saw the Island, but also the way the locals used these views to create a (false) unified, single identity, taking to the-
-extremes what was actually true. This discussion will therefore follow both the external and internal points of view.
This analysis begins from the 19th century, when the current of Positivism aroused a general interest towards different cultures. Often (if not always) this-
**Sardinian STEREOTYPES and criminal anthropology**
From Cicero to criminal anthropology, all the insults and harmful ideologies Sardinians had (have) to face.
📸 A couple of Sardinian bandits.
This is going to be a little heavy topic, involving different kinds of discrimination.
The first ones who had something to say against Sardinians were the Romans, who didn't manage to fully take control of the people. Native people still attacked Roman settlements from-
-their own refuge in the inner mountains of Sardinia. The Romans called them barbarians, because they did that to everyone, and the modern name of Barbagia derives from that. But the stereotype wasn't only for the people inhabiting the mountains, but for all Sardinians.